Drs. Wyatt and Comer Present at SACS on Higher Education Partnership Strategy for School Transformation

Dr. James P. Comer and Dr. Robert L. Wyatt, president of Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina, presented at the 166^th annual meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in Orlando, Florida on December 4, 2011. The title of their presentation was Partners for Unparalleled Local Scholastic Excellence: Transforming “School Reform” into a Point of Community Pride.

“What I have always appreciated about our work in Hartsville is that it a part of a very thoughtful strategy by their community leadership to address the various segments of the community in ways that best meet their educational needs,” said Dr. Comer. “It was a pleasure to present with Dr. Wyatt to share with others and to get a better understanding of how the strategy is working. As a result we both got new ideas about how to enhance our work.”

“Dr. James Comer, who has often been called a giant of education, has taken a genuine interest in Hartsville's students and has made his role in PULSE a personal priority, said Dr. Wyatt. “Sharing lessons learned through Coker College's collaboration with Dr. Comer and his team in the School Development Program, with our colleagues at the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association represented a special opportunity to extend the reach of his efforts and facilitate an expansion of the role that institutions of higher learning play in the communities that they are privileged to serve.”